Lufthansa Cargo, the logistics arm of Lufthansa, employs 4600 people worldwide and flies direct to 300 destinations in around 100 countries. In 2015, the company’s fleet of five Boeing 777F and 12 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft flew roughly 1.6 million tons of freight. Each item was transported an average distance of over 5130 kilometers. What a haul!

HEAVENLY HELPERS

The freighters also help to alleviate pain. Lined up, the pills flown every week would form a chain longer than the 21 196-kilometer Great Wall of China. Lufthansa Cargo also transports four life-saving organs daily and enough insulin for 1.3 million diabetes sufferers.

HOT AND COLD

Freight containers can be chilled or heated to temperatures ranging from -20 to +30 degrees Celsius for the transportation of temperature sensitive goods.

MERCEDES W150

This infamous car, built in 1943, was taken to Monterey for auction in 2010. The winning bid was a cool 1.3 million dollars.

80 MILLION FISH

stop over in the Animal Lounge in Frankfurt annually, as do 2000 horses and 15 000 cats and dogs.

ORCHESTRAL MANEUVERS

For their Asia tour in 2013, the Munich Philharmonic set off with tubas, cellos, trumpets and other instruments packed in 89 crates. With a gross weight of 9000 kilograms on six pallets, they actually traveled lighter than expected.

IN GOOD HANDS

Lufthansa flies 5600 tons of valuables every year: banknotes, art, jewels, diamonds, pearls, gold and other precious metals. Exactly what goes where is a secret, of course.

LIVE CARGO

Every year, Lufthansa Cargo transports 150 zoo animals. In 2015, this included six rescued lions, which were flown from the Netherlands to Johannesburg, South Africa for release back into the wild.

AIRMAIL WRIT LARGE

Need to ship a painting home from Art Basel Miami Beach? Or want to take your grandparents’ comfy sofa with you when you move to Lisbon? Challenges like this have just become a lot easier, thanks to myAirCargo, Lufthansa’s private transportation service. Now, you can send large, heavy items around the world from door to door. Initially available for Europe and the United States, the service is being continually extended. Simply visit the website, and a few clicks later you will be quoted a guaranteed price including customs duties. Lufthansa ­Cargo will take care of everything else.